A Manager’s Guide to Restoring Trust in Government

Written by Valerie Luna, student, Certified Public Manager Program, Hobby School of Public Affairs

Are you witnessing behavior that seems ethically questionable by your local leadership? Is your local government becoming a victim of fake news and unwilling to accept factual information? These acts by our elected officials clearly damage how we as citizens view democracy and local government. The following information is a guide on how the public can overcome these challenges that we are facing today.

According to the Pew Research Center, “About two-in-three U.S. adults (64%) say fabricated news stories cause a great deal of confusion about the basic facts of current issues and events.” These results come from a survey of 1,002 adults in the U.S. conducted in December 2016. It is the responsibility of elected offices across the nation to prevent the spread of confusion.

Here are a few things that we as public managers and public servants can do.

Public managers in elected offices should hold their employees to the highest ethical standards. This can often be difficult because it is not always clear what is right or wrong. However, having a strong moral compass can be beneficial during times of uncertainty or crisis.

Good ethical standing promotes a strong public image for the elected office

Following ethical guidelines means the community will have a strong resource to utilize

When ethical practices are implemented, the quality of service is maintained

Do not underestimate the power of being a good coach. The benefits of coaching include improved performance and productivity, effective communication, and builds a strong workforce.

Encouragement or motivation can help develop employees’ everyday performance

It is important that local public managers improve the performance of their elected offices, especially in light of the current the lack of trust in the federal government. According to a Pew Research Center poll in 2017, only 18% of Americans say they trust the government in Washington. This highly visible lack of trust in government puts more pressure on local government to become the leader in ethical and transparent governance.

Local public managers and servants can lead the way.

Public managers can lead the way by encouraging innovation. Authors and public policy experts Steven Cohen and William Eimicke stated that, “Public sector management innovation is best defined as the development of new policy designs and new standard operating procedures by public organizations to address public policy problems. It is important to emphasize that we are dealing with both the design and the management of policies and programs”[2]

Quality Management – request that focus be placed on the constituent and that improvement be continuous

Team Management- create a team of people with different perspectives and request that they develop a wide range of response to local government challenges[3]

It all starts with us — your local elected officials and your local public servants — to change the perception of government. We have the ability to use management tools to accomplish this task. If these tools are implemented we can combat fake news, increase political knowledge and restore confidence in government.

[1] Arquella Hargrove. Track 2: Managing for Quality. September and October 2017.